So, is the precaution of taking out pet health insurance the best thing
that you can do to protect your self from sudden unexpected veterinary
costs?

It may be. But the decision to insure your pet, or not, is not
necessarily an easy one to make.

Pet Health Insurance for Your Cat

Before deciding whether or not to take out health insurance for your
cat, you may want to think about putting by the money that you would be
paying in premiums - into a bank account.

This money only to be used in
the event that your cat needs treatment.

Treatment for your cat can be expensive. So, is taking out pet health insurance the best thing that you can do to protect your self from unexpected veterinary costs?

This is no easy decision to make. You will need to take many things into
consideration.

How much will pet health care insurance cost you over
the length of your cat's life?

Has your cat an on going condition? The
age of your cat. Will you cat ever be likely cause you any third party
liability?

Will your cat need surgery, X rays?

You should also ask yourself what if your cat should require expensive treatment before
you have had time to make any significant savings?

And, are you the
disciplined type that will regularly make the necessary deposits into
the bank account?

For some cat owners, but by no means all, building up an emergency fund
to cover veterinary costs makes better financial sense than paying pet
health insurance premiums.

It is, if you like, a gamble. If your cat incurs a large medical
expense only once or twice during the course of his or her life then
quite possibly you would have paid out more in pet insurance premiums
than the cost of treatment.

In this way the insurance companies make their profits.

On the other hand...

If your cat should ever need a long ongoing course of care, or just one
very costly treatment, then having health insurance in force could
benefit you greatly.

For some of us the security of having a pet health
policy for our cat is reason enough regardless of any financial
consideration.

Your Cat's Health Insurance - What Coverage Are You Getting?

Should you decide that pet insurance makes financial, or
emotional, sense for you, then you will need to choose which policy and
from which company.

As with any insurance policies, pet policies can be a
minefield of small print.

You will need to be quite sure that you know
exactly what cover you are getting.

Does the policy cover:

All, or most, Veterinary Fees?

Medication?

Death from Illness?

Death from Injury?

Loss by Theft?

Loss by Straying?

Tick and Worming Treatment?

Surgery?

X-rays?

Third Party Liability?

Any Boarding Fees?

Nursing Care?

Whichever policy you choose it will almost certainly not cover every
eventuality.

There will be exclusions. There will be deductibles (the
excess), policy holders always pay a portion of the claim, you need to
find out how much this is.

What is the maximum amount paid out per year? Most pet health policies
only pay a set maximum amount per year, per condition. You need to
investigate this.

Will you always be able to make the choice of which veterinarian treats
your cat?

Or does the insurance company have a set list of approved veterinarians?

Does the same restriction apply to specialist treatment?

How long
will it take to settle a claim? Can you communicate easily with the
insurers, are they reachable by telephone?

Will you be able to continue your policy as your cat gets older?
How will this affect the payments that you make?

Some pet health
insurers increase premiums by up to 40% for older cats.

Are you able to take additional cover for routine things like spaying or neutering, parasite prevention and Vaccinations?

A pet health insurance policy may give you the assurance that, if
the need arises, you may be able to get your cat whatever veterinary
treatment is necessary, and you may consider it worth whatever the
premium will cost you.